Loveland voters overwhelmingly rejected ballot question 2C referred by the City of Loveland which would have allowed the city to license marijuana dispensaries and grow operations in town in defiance of federal law. As of 7:00 PM election night, a landslide against 2C was recorded of 63% against and only 36% in favor.

Carmen Weston, an outspoken opponent of 2C, funded signs around Loveland for a few hundred dollars opposing the measure through an independent expenditure. Weston stated, “I am relieved that quack medicine will not be licensed in Loveland so truly sick people cannot be hurt here.” She also noted, “Anyone with a medical marijuana card can still use pot legally in Colorado for themselves but they can’t be licensed to grow it for profit while making outrageous claims about its medicinal value at least in Loveland” She continued, “science and not emotion needs to prevail in this debate and the science is clear. Our town just dodged a bullet that would have brought more crime, drug addictions and lower property values not to mention possibly deaths of immune suppressed cancer or aids patients mislead by backyard pharmacists.”

During a 2 hour hearing before the City Council last August, one backer of the marijuana dispensaries warned Loveland's council, "if you take this to the voters you will tear this town apart." No organized opposition to 2C ever materialized with the exception of Carmen Weston; whose signs were quickly stolen whenever posted. Some opponents interviewed by LovelandPolitics asked not to be identified in fear of retaliation by the marijuana dispensary owners who were active and vocal in the campaign to pass 2C.

Loveland’s City Council referred the question of ‘medical marijuana’ dispensary licensing to the voters last summer. Dispensaries began appearing in Loveland in 2009 after the Obama Administration announced it would no longer enforce federal laws that prohibit the sale of marijuana to the public in states that allow medical marijuana. Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is available through pharmacies for people with a doctor’s prescription in a synthetic form that is not addictive.

Unlike other local governments, Loveland’s council failed to reach a consensus on the issue last July and instead threw the political hot potato to the voters through ballot question 2C. Councilwoman Joan Shaffer was perhaps the most ardent supporter of 2C who helped the backers devise a plan to remove marijuana leaves from their business signs to improve their public image. She also bragged recently in a joint city/county meeting that marijuana dispensaries could provide over $1 million for Loveland in future sales taxes.

Councilwoman Donna Rice and Councilman Hugh McKean both opposed the licensing of dispensaries in Loveland and opposed 2C while the majority of Loveland’s council refused to take a public position on the ballot question.

What Now?

The City of Loveland extended a previous moratorium on new businesses that allowed the dozen pot shops already operating in Loveland without a license to continue until March 1, 2011 even if voters rejected 2C. Defiant owners are likely to sue the City of Loveland as they threatened earlier during council public hearings on the issue in an effort to remain open regardless of what the voters decide.

Curiously, these same operators have ignored federal laws, operated outside the constraints of Amendment 20 (medical marijuana amendment passed 10 years ago in Colorado) and even violated Loveland's own charter by failing to report campaign contributions or open a bank account for money raised in support of 2C. Despite all that, they will be looking to a court of law to adjudicate whether or not they can continue operating after the March 11, deadline.

L.A.W. (Loveland Association of Wellness) is an association of the majority of marijuana dispensaries in town that exclusively funded the very visible political campaign to pass 2C. Spending over $3,000 (more than 5 times the one person campaigning against the measure spent) but failed to persuade voters 2C was worth supporting. In a last ditch effort to gain momentum, a crowd assembled on an intersection of highway 287 with signs that read, “control medical marijuana.”

Perhaps the cynical nature of the yes on 2C campaign that pretended it was a measure meant to limit or control marijuana dispensaries in Loveland (instead of allowing them) backfired as voters read the language on their ballots and realized it wasn’t what they were being told.

Regulatory Overview

November 2000Colorado voters approve Amendment 20 to State Constitution allowing for limited use of marijuana for medical purposes

October 2009President Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, instructed federal prosecutes not to seek charges against medical marijuana users in 14 states where some form of marijuana use is allowed under state law.

June 2010Governor Ritter signs into law regulations allowing for the retail of marijuana in Colorado but allowing local jurisdictions of "opt-out" by prohibiting the for-profit distribution. see Denver Post article

Marijuana candy that will be legal to produce and sell in Loveland if 2C passes.

According to the California Police Chief Summit on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in California, only 2.05% of the patients using these dispensaries are patients with aids, glaucoma or cancer. The vast majority, as in Colorado, obtain their prescription for pain relief, insomnia or other less serious conditions. Nonetheless, nothing in a city ban would prohibit these patients from cultivating marijuana for themselves or obtaining it from a care giver.See California Dispensary Summit Presentation